“Dressing up in one of those suits and posing for photos is not a violation of the law,” New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly said, according to the New York Post.

Since the ruling, the number of solicitors has increased and subsequent problems have developed. The most recent incident occurred Sunday when the man dressed as Cookie Monster reportedly tussled with the toddler after the child’s mother didn’t tip him for a photo.

The skirmish follows a handful of other altercations, including a man dressed as Super Mario who reportedly groped a woman and an Elmo who railed against Jews, the Post reported.

“Our ability to treat these characters as vendors was eliminated,” city lawyer Gabriel Taussig told the Post. “And, absent of vending laws, there is no other law that comes close to dealing with where they can be located.”

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About the Author

Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.